The present invention relates in general to bulk material bins and, more particularly, to a mass flow bulk material bin.
Heretofore, bulk material bins for storing, handling and discharging dry powder and granules failed to unload completely without bridging. Vibrators were used in the bulk material bins for dry powder and granules to reduce bridging of the stored dry powder materials and granules during the discharge thereof from the bin.
In the U.S. patent to Johanson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,975, granted on Apr. 8, 1997, for Chip Feed System, there is disclosed a chip bin for uniformly discharging wood chips therefrom without a vibrator. The apparatus disclosed in the patent to Johanson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,975, employed a cylindrical bin and a conical transition section disposed below the cylindrical bin. In one embodiment, a baffle having triangular cross-sectional areas is disposed within the conical transition section. In another embodiment, the transition section is formed with triangular-shaped, flat side outer panels. The bins disclosed in the patent to Johanson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,975, are intended to address the problem of reliability and maintenance of conventional vibratory discharges and the problems of chip bin pluggage, bridging and channeling.